India Power Corp. Ltd, a subsidiary of Kolkata-based Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited, is in talks to buy Abhijeet Group’s 1,080 megawatt (MW) power project in Jharkhand, valued around Rs 9,000 crore, according to a news report by the Mint citing a board member of the company.
Jyoti Poddar, an independent director at India Power, told the paper that the company has expressed its interest to the lenders of the Abhijeet Group for the acquisition of the group’s power assets in Jharkhand along with exploring other generating assets.
Manoj Jayaswal-promoted Abhijeet Group is among the biggest beneficiaries of the controversial coal block allotments by UPA government. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the allotments to the groups and other companies.
The Jharkhand project has been affected severely due to the financial constraints of banks owing to ongoing investigations by CBI.
State owned Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd (REC) and State Bank of India (SBI) are the lenders to Abhijeet’s project in Jharkhand and have been looking to recover and restructure their loans. The lenders of group have been approached by Srei Infra with a buyout plan.
The project has four units of 270 MW each, which have been divided into two phases. The expected date of commissioning of Phase I is December 2014, while Phase II is August 2015.
Jas Infrastructure and Power Ltd, another group firm, has been named in the list of companies by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, to which coal mines were illegally allotted by the UPA government.
Abhijeet Group has interests in power, steel, road building and mining businesses. India Power Corp was set up in November 2003 with main objectives to set up and operate power plants in the country. The firm houses power distribution license for the Asansol-Raniganj belt.